Vehicle slide-out operating mechanism

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a vehicle with one or more slide-out sections and a compact operating mechanism for moving each slide-out section between extended and retracted positions. In one form, the vehicle has a primary slide-out section and a secondary slide-out section mounted to extend and retract relative to the primary slide-out section. In that case, the vehicle has at least two operating mechanism, at least one for each sliding section. Each operating mechanism has two slide modules, one module is mounted the slide-out section and the other is mounted to a stationary part of the vehicle. One module includes a drive and the other includes a drive member, such as a drive screw, that interact to extend and retract the slide-out section. A track and glide arrangement can be used to facilitate relative sliding between the modules.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit to U.S. provisional application Ser. No.60/546,245, filed on Feb. 20, 2004.

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to vehicles and in particular torecreational vehicles.

2. Description of the Related Art

To increase the available interior space of recreational vehicles ortrailers, the vehicle may have a slide-out section, such as rooms orclosets. These slide-out sections usually include a floor, a roof, anend wall and one or more side walls. In the retracted position the roof,floor, and side walls are typically inside the stationary part of thevehicle, concealed from exterior view, and the end wall forms a portionof the vehicle's side wall. During transit, these sections are retractedand stored in the interior of the vehicle or trailer, with the exteriorwall of the slide-out section being flush with the exterior of thevehicle or trailer. To use the slide-out section, the vehicle is firstparked and leveled. The slide-out room is then slid outward from thevehicle, thereby increasing the interior space of the vehicle.

While the extendible section can increase the usable interior space ofthe vehicle considerably, space optimization remains an issue. Thus,ways to incorporate other space saving technology into the vehicle aresought. The challenge is primarily doing so without excessive weight tothe vehicle and fitting the space saving components into the interior ina sensible way and without interfering with the movable components ofthe vehicle, such as the slide-out section(s).

The operating mechanisms for extending and retracting the slide-outsections are another area of concern. Various drive assemblies are knownand can be manual or powered, including hydraulics, pneumatics,electronics, simple gearing mechanisms, sheave and pulley arrangements,or various combinations thereof.

The operating mechanism for extending and retracting the slide-outsection relative to the vehicle may be fixed to the vehicle body and caninclude one or more sliding rails attached to the slide-out section.Typically, these sliding rails slide within rail supports fixed to thevehicle frame. Multiple sliding rails are typically utilized for wideslide-out sections. Such operating mechanisms of conventional slide-outroom assemblies are large and can add significant cost and weight to avehicle.

Another problem with vehicles having such slide-out sections is that theslide-out room may move considerably with respect to the rest of thevehicle during transit, for example, from riding over bumps, takinghigh-speed turns or making evasive maneuvers with the vehicle. Inextreme cases, this can result in the slide-out section actually slidingaway, or extending, from the vehicle during transit. Another problem isforming a tight seal between the slide-out section and the vehicle,particularly when the slide-out section is retracted, to keep out rain,insects and other foreign bodies. The sliding mechanism may not besufficient to compress the gaskets or other seals around the vehicleopening to adequately seal off the interior.

Several solutions to overcome these problems have been developed in theprior art which work to limit the amount of play in the slide-outoperating mechanism, however, these are generally inadequate bythemselves. Stand alone latching or locking devices, therefore, havebeen devised to address these problems, but room still exists forimprovement in this area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a vehicle with one or more slide-outsections and a compact operating mechanism for moving each slide-outsection between extended and retracted positions. In the event theslide-out section is large and spans considerable width as would aliving area, two or more operating mechanisms spaced apart at oppositesides of the slide-out section can be used.

The vehicle can have a first slide-out section disposed at a vehiclewall opening and moveable between extended and retracted positionsrelative to the vehicle frame by a first operating mechanism, and asecond slide-out section disposed at a wall opening of the firstslide-out section and moveable between extended and retracted positionsrelative to the first slide-out section by a second operating mechanism.Thus, the vehicle can have a primary slide-out section and a secondaryslide-out section mounted to extend and retract relative to the primaryslide-out section, such as a slide-out room having its own slide-out baywindow.

Each operating mechanism has two slide modules, one module is mountedthe slide-out section and the other is mounted to a stationary part ofthe vehicle. One module includes a drive unit and the other includes alinear member, such as a drive screw, that interact to extend andretract the slide-out section. A track and glide arrangement can be usedto facilitate relative sliding between the modules. The drive unit slidemodule can include a motor drive, a drive nut as well as a glideassembly having one or more glides mounted to a support bracket. Theother slide module can include a pair of tracks with the drive screwmounted between the tracks and fixed so as not to rotate.

In a preferred form, the tracks define v-shaped sections that mate withv-shaped grooves in the glides, which are preferably rollers or slidersmade of an ultra high molecular weight polymer. The support canessentially span the gap between the tracks and has opposite wallsmounting each roller or slide in engagement with the tracks.

Preferably, the drive is an electric motor, and the motor turns a drivenut in engagement with the non-rotating drive screw to effect linearmovement between the frame modules, and thereby extend or retract theslide-out section. The drive is preferably mounted to just one side ofthe plane defined by the associated pair of tracks.

The advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detaileddescription and drawings. What follows are preferred embodiments of thepresent invention. To assess the full scope of the invention the claimsshould be looked to as the preferred embodiments are not intended as theonly embodiments within the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exterior driver side rear perspective view of arecreational vehicle having extendible slide-out sections incorporatingthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exterior passenger side rear perspective view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing the interior of the vehicle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial interior perspective view of a slide-out bedroomcut-away to show its operating mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a partial side sectional view of the operating mechanism shownin FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial interior bottom perspective view showing theoperating mechanism for a slide-out vanity;

FIG. 7 is a partial interior bottom perspective view showing theoperating mechanism for a slide-out window within the slide-out roomshown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a partial bottom perspective view showing an operatingmechanism of another slide-out room;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view showing both operating mechanisms of theslide-out room shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the slide-out room shown in FIG. 4 showing acable and sheave anti-tip system;

FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view showing cargo slide-outs extendedfrom a side of the vehicle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 showing the cargo slide-outsretracted such that rear compartment extends back into the basementspace of the vehicle between a vehicle frame member and the stationaryfloor of the vehicle;

FIG. 13 is a partial bottom perspective view of one of the cargoslide-outs in an extended position;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line 14-14 of FIG. 13 showing adouble-run track and glide arrangement used to fully extend a drawer ofthe cargo slide-out;

FIG. 15 shows the track and glide arrangement retracted from the topview;

FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 15 albeit showing the track fullyextended;

FIG. 17 is a partial sectional view showing another one of the cargoslide-outs, shown fully extended in phantom;

FIG. 18 is a partial exterior perspective view of one of the slide-outsections showing a travel lock in a retracted position;

FIG. 19 is a view similar to FIG. 18 showing the travel lock in anengaged position;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the travel lock of FIG. 18 inisolation;

FIG. 21 is a partial sectional view taken along line 21-21 in FIG. 18 ofthe travel lock in the retracted position;

FIG. 22 is a partial sectional view taken along line 22-22 in FIG. 19 ofthe travel lock in the engaged position;

FIG. 23 is a partial perspective viewing showing a manual version of thetravel lock of FIG. 18;

FIG. 24 is a partial interior perspective view showing the actuator endof an alternate, clamp type travel lock in a stowed position;

FIG. 25 is a partial interior perspective view similar to FIG. 24showing the actuator end of the travel lock pivoted out for deployingthe travel lock;

FIG. 26 is a partial sectional view taken along line 26-26 of FIG. 25and showing in phantom the actuator and lock arm of the travel lockpivoted;

FIG. 27 is a view similar to FIG. 26 showing the travel lock in theengaged position;

FIG. 28 is a partial interior perspective view showing a dinette tablewith an end piece containing a stowed video display and lift mount;

FIG. 29 is a view similar to FIG. 28 albeit showing the display elevatedposition;

FIG. 30 is a rear perspective view showing the lift mount with thedisplay elevated;

FIG. 31 is a rear plan view of the lift mount with a movable carriageshown in a stowed position;

FIG. 32 is a view similar to FIG. 31 albeit showing the carriage in anelevated;

FIG. 33 is a partial sectional view taken along line 33-33 of FIG. 31;

FIG. 34 is a partial interior perspective view showing a wall mountedarticulating display mount with the display stowed;

FIG. 35 is a view similar to FIG. 34 albeit showing the display extendedto a viewing position;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of the mount of FIG. 34 in the extendedposition; and

FIG. 37 is a sectional view taken along line 37-37 of FIG. 34.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides improvements to the functionality ofpassenger vehicles, such as a tow-along trailer or a self-propelled(motorhome) recreational vehicle, as well as other vehicles for use inconstruction, military, medical, education, mobile broadcast and otherapplications. These improvements are particularly suited for use in avehicle having an extendable section, for example, a slide-out room orcloset used to provide additional interior room space.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, a recreational vehicle 20 has a number ofslide-out sections, including a slide-out room 22, a slide-out bedroom24 and a slide-out vanity 26. Slide-out room 22 is a slide-out within aslide-out in that it has a slide-out box (or bay) window 28 that extendsout from the slide-out room 22. All of the slide-out sections areslideably mounted relative to a stationary floor 30 supported by a frame32 of the vehicle 20. The slide-out room 22 is a below the floor type inwhich its operating drive 34 is mounted below the stationary floor 30 ofthe vehicle. The slide-out vanity 26 and slide-out window 28 are similarbut the drive is mounted below a counter or sill. The slide-out bedroom24 is an above the floor type slide-out.

The vehicle 20 also has a roof 36 and four or more exterior walls 38,40, 42 and 44. The slide-out room 22 and the slide-out vanity 26 arelocated at respective openings 46 and 48 in the long side wall 38, andthe slide-out bedroom 24 is located at an opening 50 in the oppositeside wall 40. The slide-out room 22 has an end wall 52 with an opening54 where the slide-out window 28 is mounted.

In addition to end wall 52, the slide-out room 22 also has a movablefloor 54, side walls 56 and 58 and ceiling 60. The slide-out bedroomsimilarly has a movable floor 62, side walls 64 and 66, end wall 68 andceiling 70. The slide-out vanity 26 has a movable platform 72, side 74and 76 and end 78 walls and ceiling 80, and the slide-out window 28 hasbottom 82, top 84 and side 86 and 88 and 90 end walls.

Each slide-out section is extended and retracted by one or more compactoperating mechanisms, referred to generally by reference number 92, thatreplace the large telescoping rails common in conventional vehicles withextendible rooms. A slide-out section of sufficiently low weight andnarrow width, for example 10 feet and less, can be moved by a singleoperating mechanism located at the mid-point of its width. Larger widthslide-out sections can have two or more operating mechanisms nearopposite sides of the section and possibly also one in the middle. Ifdesired to reduce variation in extension from side to side, the two ormore operating mechanisms can be synchronized, either electronically ormechanically, for example using a coupling shaft between the drives. Thelatter would afford the option of using one higher capacity motor driveto run the multiple operating mechanisms. Of the slide-out sectionsdisclosed herein, only the room slide-out 22 spans a sufficiently largedistance to require two operating mechanisms.

While the quantity, position, mounting arrangement (such as above orbelow the stationary vehicle floor) and extension span and rate of eachparticular operating mechanism 92 can vary depending on the application,each operating mechanism 92 has in common a drive module 94 and a slidemodule 96. The drive module would at least have a driving unit of sometype, and the slide module would have a member that interacts with thedrive unit to effect linear movement between the modules, and therebycause the slide-out section to be extended or retracted relative to thevehicle. Either module can be mounted, using suitable mountingbracketry, to either the slide-out section or a stationary part of thevehicle such that one, but not both, of the modules would travel withthe slide-out section as it is extended and retracted.

A preferred operating mechanism, used for example in the slide-out room24, has a drive module 94 that includes an electric motor 100 with areducer gear box 102 having a gear train that turns a drive nut 104. Themotor 100 and gear box 102 are mounted to a support bracket 106 forglides 108. The slide module 96 includes a support mount 110 having apair of tracks 112 on each side of a drive screw 114 that has its endsfixed with respect to the support mount 110 so that the drive screw 114does not rotate. The drive nut 104 and drive screw 114 are preferablythreaded with a large pitch ACME thread, suitable for lineartransmission.

In the slide-out bedroom 24, the drive module 94 is mounted to themovable floor 62 and the slide module 96 is mounted to the stationaryfloor 30. Since the drive screw 114 is held against rotation, when themotor 100 drives the drive nut 104 will advance along the drive screw114 to move the drive module 94 linearly with respect to the slidemodule 96 as the slide-out room 24 is extended and retracted. The trackand glide arrangement, while not always necessary, provides for smoothextension and retraction of the slide-out section.

The tracks 112 each preferably have an angled rail 116 and an invertedv-shaped rail 118 that form a v-shape groove 120 therebetween that opensand narrows toward in the direction of the drive screw 114. The glides108 then preferably each have a v-shaped valley 122 allowing each glide108 to mate with the associated track 112 with the valley 122 abuttingthe rail 118 at one side of the glide 108 and the angled rail 116extending into the valley 122 at the other side. In this way, the track112 can effectively capture the glides 108 and limit lateral movement orseparation.

The support bracket 106 for the glides 108 essentially spans the gapbetween the tracks 112, and it can have an inverted u-shape with one ormore glides 108 (preferably two) mounted to each upright wall thereof.Moreover, the glides 108 can be rollers (as shown) each having a bearingmounted axle secured to the bracket 106 so that the rollers can berotated within the tracks 112. Or, the glides 108 can be sliders (notshown) made of low friction and/or lubricious material, such as an ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW) polymer, and mounted to the bracket 106without the ability to turn.

Each slide-out section can be extended or retracted after the vehicle 20is parked and leveled by activating the motor 110, preferably by aninterior wall or dash mounted switch (not shown). The motor 110 willrotate the drive nut 104 so that its internal threads engage theexternal threads of the drive screw 114. Because the drive screw 114 isheld fixed against rotation at will effect a linear force between thetwo frame modules. This linear force causes the glides 108 to travelalong the tracks 112 from one end to the other until the drive isstopped or the slide-out section is fully extended or retracted. In thecase of the slide-out in slide-out sections, the secondary slide-outwindow 28 can be extended (or retracted) consecutively (before or after)or simultaneously with the slide-out room 22 irrespective of itsposition or direction of extension or retraction.

Large slide-out sections, such as the slide-out room 22, can have ananti-tip system to keep the slide-out section level when extended. Onesuch anti-tip system 150, as shown in FIG. 10, has a cable 152 wrappedthrough upper 154 and lower 156 sheaves, which are mounted to thevehicle 20, with its outer end connected to the end wall 52 of theslide-out room 22 and its inner end connected to its movable floor 54,preferably at a cable tensioner 160. The cable 150 provides a force onthe upper and outer part of the slide-out room 22 tending to counter thedownward force of gravity on the outer end of the slide-out room 22.

The anti-tip system 150 sufficiently supports the weight of theslide-out room 22 such that its operating mechanism 92A does not requirethe track and glide arrangement to facilitate sliding. In the slide-outroom 22, the drive module 94A is mounted fixed to the vehicle and theslide module 96A moves with the slide-out room 22. As shown in FIGS. 8and 9, the support mount 106A of the slide module 96A simply defines achannel or tunnel for the drive screw 114. Also, since there are noglides, no support bracket is required. A simple motor mount can be usedinstead, or as shown in the drawings for example, the drive unit can bemounted by clamping an end of the gear box in an opening of thestationary floor of the vehicle to prevent axial movement of the driverelative to the vehicle. If desired, a long, or several short,low-friction contact pads can be mounted at the bearing surface of thevehicle to reduce sliding friction.

Referring generally to FIGS. 11 and 12, another type of slide-outpertains to increasing the usable space for storing vehicle cargo. Thevehicle 20 has several compartments for storing cargo at or near alargely unoccupied basement space 200 in between the long members of thevehicle frame. Because the basement space 200 is at the middle of thevehicle, the compartments that store cargo in this space are necessarilyquite long. Without a suitable mechanism for extending the compartmentsout from the body of the vehicle, the basement space could not beutilized satisfactorily since the rear of such compartments would beinaccessible. Thus, the present invention provides small scale cargoslide-outs 202 that extend from the body of the vehicle so that thecargo can be loaded and accessed readily.

The configuration of the cargo slide-out compartment can vary. Twoexemplary embodiments are shown in the drawings, including a splitconfiguration in which the cargo slide-out has a long shallow drawerbox, which is mounted in the upper portion of a double heightcompartment above a shallow and shorter drawer, and a steppedconfiguration in which the cargo slide-out has a deep front drawer boxpart and a long shallow part, which extends into the basement space 200.Despite the various configurations of the drawer, each has a drawer 204and a double-run track and glide arrangement is common. As such, forsimplicity only one such arrangement will be described in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 11-17, the cargo slide-out 202 has a drawer 204 witha bottom 205, upright ends 206 and 207 and upright sides 208 and 210(with respective flanges 211 and 212) defining a storage area of aparticular configuration. The drawer 204 extends and retracts from thevehicle body in a guide frame 206 having sides 216 and 218, preferablyof c-shaped cross-section, generally adjacent, in parallel to and to theoutside of, the sides 208 and 210 of the drawer 204 that provides upperbearing surfaces for the respective flanges 211 and 212.

Glides 220A are mounted to the drawer sides 208 and 210 and glides 220Bare mounted to the walls 216 and 218 of the guide frame 206. The drawermounted glides 220A extend outward toward the walls 216 and 217 of theguide frame 206, and the guide frame mounted glides 220B extend towardthe associated drawer side walls 208 and 210. The glides 220A and 220Bare preferably mounted at each side of the drawer to be in twovertically spaced horizontal rows, with at least one, and preferably twoor three, glides in each row. The drawer mounted glides 220A at eachside of the drawer are preferably vertically aligned across the two rowswith two glides near the back corner of the drawer and two near themiddle. The guide frame mounted glides 220B at each side are verticallystaggered across the rows back from at least one at the front end of theguide frame 206. The two rows of drawer mounted guides 220A arepreferably vertically between the two rows of guide frame mounted guides220B.

Here again, the glides 220A and 200B can be rollers (as shown) eachhaving a bearing mounted axle secured to either the drawer of the guideframe so that the rollers can rotated, or they can be non-rotatingsliders (not shown) made of low friction and/or lubricious material,such as an ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) polymer. Again, the glides220A and 220B preferably each have a v-shaped valley 222.

The glides 220A and 220B are sized and aligned to engage and ride alonga double-run track 224 at each side of the drawer. The track 224 cantake various forms, but must have at least one rail for the drawermounted glides 220A to ride on and at least one for the guide framemounted glides 220B to ride on. For example, the track can have tworails or grooves for each of the sets of glides, or it can have a groovereceiving the drawer mounted glides and a rail made of an outer edgesurface of the track for the guide frame mounted glides.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, each track 224 is anextruded aluminum piece having a generally E-shaped cross-section. Thetrack 224 defines a pair of long grooves 226 and 228 between two longrails 230 and 232, both of which preferably have a “V” (or inverted “V”)configuration. The grooves 226 and 228 open to the same side of thetrack 224 such that both receive and capture the drawer mounted glides220A. The guide frame mounted glides 220B ride along the outer surfacesof the rails 230 and 232.

As mentioned, the grooves 226 and 228 and rails 230 and 232 of eachtrack 224 are preferably v-shaped. That is, the outer rails 230 and 232,corresponding to the upper and lower legs of the “E” are bent to defineeither a “V” or inverted “V” shape, preferably the upper rail 230 is aninverted “V” and the lower rail 232 is an upright “V”. The middle leg ofthe “E” then forks at two angled rails 234 and 236 which angle towardthe respective outer rails 230 and 232 such that two sideways v-shapedgrooves are defined. Thus, the drawer mounted glides 220A engage thegrooves 226 and 228 such that the ends of the rails 230 and 232 and theangled rails 234 and 236 extend into the valleys 222 to capture theglides. The valleys 222 of the guide frame mounted glides 220B ridealong the v-shaped rails 230 and 232. When the tracks 224 are engagedwith the glides 220A and 220B, they connect the drawer 204 to the guideframe 206, with the “V” configuration giving the drawer a solidconnection with very little lateral play.

The tracks 224 slide with respect to both the drawer 204 and the guideframe 206. The sliding of the tracks 224 is limited by front 240 andback 241 stop members mounted to respective front and back ends of eachtrack 224. Each of the front stops 240 will abut the front two glides220A of the drawer when the drawer 204 is fully extended to prevent itfrom separating from the track 224. Each front stop 240 will also bepushed by the drawer front to move each track 224 inward until engagingthe front end of the guide frame 206, which prevent the track 224 frommoving too far backward. The back stops 241 will engage catch members243 mounted to the guide frame 206 at each side of the drawer 204 toprevent the tracks 224 and drawer 204 from sliding too far forward andseparating from the guide frame 206. The stops 240 and 241 thus work tokeep the drawer 204 mounted to the guide frame 206.

The cargo slide-out 202 allows full extension of the drawer 204 suchthat the back end of the drawer 204 can be brought to the front end ofthe guide frame 206. The cargo slide-out 202 can be moved from theretracted position shown in FIGS. 12 and 15, by pulling on the front ofthe drawer 204. This causes the glides 220A and 220B to roll or slidealong the tracks 224 and the tracks 224 to slide forward as neededdepending on how much of the drawer 204 is to be accessed.

The relatively small size of the cargo slide-outs 202 allows them to besecured in the retracted position with a simple latching lock mechanism,such as on the hinged door shown. However, this is not the case for thelarge room sized slide-outs. To secure these against movement orextension during transit, and to effect a proper seal with the vehicleexterior, a more robust travel lock must be used. Two improved travellocks are shown in the drawings, specifically, FIGS. 18-23 show acompound motion travel lock in automated 300A and manual 300B versions,and FIGS. 24-27 show a manual clamp type travel lock 400.

Referring now to FIGS. 18-22, an automated travel lock 300A includes apowered drive unit 302, preferably an electric motor, that turns a gearor gear arrangement 304 that meshes with and drives one end of a drivescrew 306, preferably having large pitch ACME threads suited for lineartransmission. The opposite end of the drive screw 306 extends into acylindrical push rod 308. A nut 309 is connected to the push rod 308 sothat the drive screw 306 rotates relative to the push rod 308, whichdoes not rotate but moves linearly back and forth in response torotation of the drive screw 306. A T-shaped end 307 is mounted to thefree end of the push rod 308 and is coupled to a lock arm 310, which ismovable within a guide frame 312.

The lock arm 310 forms a 90 degree bend with two somewhat L-shapedspines 316. At the ends of the short legs of the spines 316 is apressure pad 320 providing a planar contact surface when the travel lockis engaged. Each of the long legs of the spines 316 have two verticalopenings in which fit one long 321 and two short 322 cam pins. The longcam pin 321 extends through the T-shaped end 307 of the push rod 308 andtwo associated openings in the spines 316 and into two linear cam slots324 in each of the top and bottom walls of the guide frame 312. The twoshorter cam pins 322 extend from the other two openings in the spines316 and into arcuate cam slots 326 (sweeping 90 degrees) in the guideframe 312.

The entire assembly fits into a housing 330 which fits into a pocket 314in one of the upright walls at the side of one of the slide-out sectionsnear the exterior end wall thereof. Depending on the thickness of thewall, the housing 300 may or may not protrude into the interior for theslide-out section. A trim plate 332 fits within the opening in theexterior side of the slide-out wall.

When the lock arm 310 is retracted, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 21, theplanar surface of the pressure pad 320 will be essentially flush with orslightly recessed into the slide-out wall. Thus, when the lock arm 310is retracted, it will not interfere with extension and retraction of theslide-out section. By energizing the drive, preferably by an interiorwall or dash mounted switch, the drive screw 306 will turn and cause thepush rod 308 to drive the lock arm 310 by engagement with the cam pin321. The cam pins 322 are guided by the cam slots 326 to swing the lockarm 310 out about 90 degrees from the slide-out wall to an intermediateextended (but not yet fully engaged) position. Further linear driving bythe drive screw 306 will cause the lock arm 310 to move linearly, untilthe cam pin 321 reaches the end of the straight cam slots 324, from theintermediate extended position into the engaged position shown in FIGS.19 and 22, in which the lock arm 310 engages an inner surface of theexterior side wall of the vehicle. This linear movement allows the lockarm 310 to clamp tightly against the exterior vehicle side wall so as tolimit play between the slide-out section and the vehicle and to create atight, water-proof seal at the slide-out flange. The engagement of theACME threads with the drive will resist inadvertent movement of the lockarm and effectively lock the slide-out section.

FIG. 23 shows the manual version 300B of this travel lock. This versionhas the same type of lock arm and cam pin and slot arrangement, however,rather then actuating the lock arm with a motor driven drive screw, thelock arm is driven by a plunger 340 that moves linearly back and forthby rotation of a crank handle 342 turning a cam lever 344 with a slot346 that captures a radial projection 348 extending from the plunger340.

The manual version 300B fits into the same space in the slide-out wall,however, its housing may be smaller since there is no motor, such thatpreferably only the short stub or axle to which the crank handle mounts342 will project though the wall into the interior of the slide-outsection. The crank handle 342 is preferably removable so that it can bestored discreetly when not used.

To actuate the lock arm, the crank handle 342 is rotated only about 180degrees. The lock arm will follow a similar compound (pivotal andlinear) movement as in the automated version, so as to tightly clampagainst an inner surface of the exterior vehicle side wall. To securethe travel lock in the engaged position, a band clamp 350 can be mountedabout the plunger 340 so as to abut a bracket 352 through which theplunger 340 extends and thus prevent linear movement thereof which wouldotherwise allow the lock arm to move toward its retracted position. Theband clamp 350 is preferably tightened and loosened by a smallthumbscrew 354 which extends into the slide-out interior.

The manual clamp type travel lock 400 is shown in FIGS. 24-27. Thetravel lock 400 fits into a housing 402 in a pocket in the slide-outside wall, and the housing 402 and trim plates 404 define openings atboth the exterior and the interior of the slide-out section. The housing402 also defines a partition 406 between the interior and exterioropenings. The travel lock 400 fits into the housing 402 and pivotallymounts under tension between opposite walls of the housing 402 with amiddle part of the travel lock 400 extending though a slot 408 in thepartition 406 which is closed by a keeper member 410. An actuator 412 ofthe travel lock 400 is disposed at the interior opening and a lock arm414 is disposed at the exterior opening.

The actuator 412 preferably is a ratchet drive mechanism of a knownconstruction. The ratchet action is controlled by a trigger 420 mountedto pivot adjacent a pistol grip handle 422. A trigger-like release lever424 can be used to disengage the ratchet drive.

The actuator 412 also has a pusher sleeve 430 mounted about an elongatedsupport bar 432, which extends the length of the travel lock 400 and hasend caps 434 that abut the opposite walls of the housing 402. The end ofthe sleeve 430 mounts, either integrally or as a separate part, the lockarm 414. The lock arm 414 is bent so as to be offset from the supportbar 432 and to have a leg that extends essentially parallel thereto. Theend of the lock arm 414 has a small disc-shaped pressure pad 436 with aflat planar surface used to abut the vehicle wall.

In use, the entire travel lock 400 is pivoted with respect to thehousing 402 about the support bar 432 so that the actuator handle 422extends toward the interior of the slide-out section and so that thelock arm 414 is disposed outside of the slide-out wall such that thepressure pad 436 can be brought into abutment with an inner surface ofthe exterior vehicle side wall. Then, the trigger 420 is depressedrepeatedly as needed to incrementally advance the actuator 412, sleeve430 and lock arm 414 along the support bar 432 so that the lock arm 414engages and clamps against the vehicle to hold and seal the slide-outwith respect to the vehicle. Depressing the release lever 424 disengagesthe ratchet drive and allows the lock arm 414 to be disengaged from thevehicle by pulling the actuator 412 and sleeve 430 (from inside theslide-out section) back.

For any of the travel stops described above it may be useful to includean electronic interrupt circuit in the drive circuitry of the powerslide-out drive system which can prevent movement of a slide-out sectionuntil the travel lock has been disengaged. Such a circuit could alsoprevent the slide-out section from being retracted in the event thetravel stop was inadvertently in the engaged position. A suitable switchcould be used to detect the position of the lock arm, or a currentlimiter sensing motor loading can be used.

In addition to the slide-out features of the present invention, anotherway to maximize the interior space in vehicles of this type is to employspace-saving appliances. A video display, such as a television orcomputer monitor, is one common appliance in recreational vehicles.Technological advancements in video reproduction have given rise to flatpanel displays, such as plasma and LCD displays. Such flat paneldisplays can produce a large image with a very shallow depth, usually 5inches or less, such that they have a very small footprint and can behung on a wall. Flat panel displays are thus ideal for use inrecreational vehicles. However, given the very limited availableinterior space of such vehicles, without special mounting, even flatpanel displays can be too intrusive or interfere with the movement of aslide-out section. Thus, the present invention provides a lift mount 500for a video display, as shown in FIGS. 28-33, and an articulating wallmount 600, as shown in FIGS. 34-37.

The lift mount 500 is designed to mount a display 502 in a stowedposition that is below the normal viewing height of people, generallybelow table height, so as not to obstruct windows or interfere withtable and counter space. For example, the display 502 could be mountedin a small cabinet 504 (with the cabinet top being mounted at the top ofthe display 502) adjacent to a folding dinette table, as shown in FIGS.28 and 29, or adjacent to a folding sofa or bed, or it could be builtinto a bench of a dinette booth. In any event, the mount 500 will raisethe display from the stowed position, shown in FIG. 28, in which thedisplay 502 is lowered and preferably concealed to an elevated position,as shown in FIG. 29, in which the display is at an appropriate heightfor viewing.

The lift mount 500 has a carriage 506 including a support brace 508mounted to the back of the display 502 and two glide brackets 510mounted to the brace 508 at its lower two corners. Each of the brackets510 supports four glides 512 that are arranged in two spaced apartcolumns so as to ride within two vertical tracks 514 which are part of aguide frame 516, which can be a separate component or part of thecabinet 504. As in the other assemblies described above, the glides 512can be rollers or sliders, and preferably they have a v-shaped groove soas to mate with the v-shape tracks 514. The glide and track arrangementallows the carriage to roll or slide the display 502 up and downsmoothly between stowed and elevated positions.

The carriage 506 is raised and lowered by a lift assembly 520 includinga pair of gas (e.g., air) springs 522, a drive unit 524 and a cable andsheave arrangement 526. The drive unit 524 is mounted at the bottom ofthe cabinet 504 by a bracket 525 and includes an electric motor 526,gear box 528, and a shaft mounted drum 530 rotated by the motor 526. Thedrum 530 defines two spool sections 532 and 534. A lifting cable 536wraps about the spool section 532 from one side of the axis of the drum530 and a lowering cable 538 wraps about the spool section 534 from theopposite side of the drum axis. As the drum 530 is rotated onedirection, the lifting cable 536 is being wound while the lowering cable538 is being unwound such that the carriage 506 is raised, and theopposite happens when the drum 530 is turned the opposite direction tolower the carriage 506.

The lower ends of the cables 536 and 538 are clamped or bolted to themotor bracket 525, and their upper ends are mounted using cabletensioners 540 to a lower part of (or a bracket attached thereto) thecarriage support brace 508. The lifting cable 536 wraps around a fixedheight sheave 542 mounted to the center of a cross-member at the top ofthe cabinet (or guide frame) and a sheave 544 mounted to the lower partof the carriage support brace 508. The lowering cable 538 wraps around adifferent sheave 546 mounted to the lower part of the carriage supportbrace 508. In this way, the two cables 536 and 538 wind and unwind fromthe drum 530 simultaneously to raise or lower the carriage 506 dependingon the direction the drum 530 is rotated.

Cylinder ends 550 of the gas springs 522 are mounted to the motorbracket 525 and their plunger ends 552 are mounted to the lower ends ofthe glide brackets 510. The gas springs 522 mount to an upper end of themotor bracket 525 at a sufficient height such that the plunger ends 552are vertically below the cylinder ends 550 when the carriage 506 islowered to stow the display 502 such that they apply a downward forcetending to keep the display in the stowed position. And, the plungerends 552 are vertically above the cylinder ends 550 when the carriage506 is raised to elevate the display 502 such that they apply an upwardforce tending to support the display in the elevated position. The gassprings 522 are thus over-center mounted such that as the carriage 506is raised they apply a lifting force only after the plunger ends 552 areabove the cylinder ends 550 and a lowering force only after the plungerends 552 are below the cylinder ends 550. The gas springs 522 thus workto support the elevated display and keep it stowed as well as to providea smooth lifting and lowering motion.

Referring now to FIGS. 34-37, the articulating mount 600 has a carriage602 with a support brace 604 that mounts to the back of the display andtwo glide brackets 606 mounted to the upper and lower corners of oneside (right in the drawings) of the support brace 604. The support brace604 is mounted to the glide brackets 606 at two pivot connections 610which extend along a common vertical pivot axis.

Each of the glide brackets 606 supports two glides 612 at each end thatride within two horizontal tracks 614 of a guide frame 616, which can bea separate component or part of an enclosure. Again, these glides 612can be rollers or sliders and preferably have a v-shaped groove so as tomate with the v-shape tracks 614.

Two swing arms 620 are pivotally mounted between the tracks 614 and thetop and bottom sides of the support brace 604. In particular, one end ofeach swing arm 620 is mounted at a pivot connection 622 at the end of ashaft 623 that is aligned about a vertical pivot axis at an end of thetracks 614 (left in the drawings) opposite the pivotal connection of thesupport brace 604 and the glide brackets 606. The other ends of theswing arms 620 are mounted to pivot connections 624 aligned about avertical pivot axis at an intermediate location near the horizontalcenter of the support brace 604.

The mount 600 thus support the display 502 between a stowed or retractedposition in which the support brace 604 is essentially parallel with thetracks 614 and one of many angled extended positions in which thesupport brace 604 is pivoted out at an angle with respect to the tracks614. In moving from the stowed to the extend positions, the carriage 602both translates linearly along the tracks 614 and pivots at the pivotalconnection between the support brace 604 and the glide brackets 606. Theswing arms 620 pivot out as well to help support the weight of thedisplay.

In one preferred mounting location, the mount 600 can be mounted to awall at or near a corner of a room of the vehicle. When the display isswung out it would cut in front of the corner at an angle and provide awide viewing angle to the display in that room. And, the free end of thedisplay could abut the adjacent wall rather than extending into a pathfor walking inside the vehicle. Further, a catch or fixed support couldbe mounted on that wall to retain or support the free end of thedisplay.

While a manually actuated mount has been shown and described herein, themount could also be powered. For example, an electric motor drive andgear box could be added to drive the swing arms, thereby pivoting andtranslating the display between retracted and extended positions. Or,the swing arms could be gas spring, tending to pivot out the displaywhen not held in the retracted position. A suitable powered cable andsheave arrangement could also be employed.

While there has been shown and described what are at present consideredthe preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be madetherein without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, thefollowing claims should be reference to ascertain the scope of theinvention.

1. An operating mechanism for extending a slide-out section of a vehiclerelative to a stationary part of the vehicle, the operating mechanismcomprising; a first module including: a drive screw; a mount mountingthe drive screw against rotation to one of the stationary part of thevehicle and the slide-out section; and a second module including: adrive mounted to the other of the stationary part of the vehicle and theslide-out section not mounting the drive screw; a nut threadedlyengaging with the drive screw and driven by the drive to move the nutaxially relative to the screw so that the first module moves linearlyrelative to the second module and thereby the slide-out moves linearlyrelative to the stationary part of the vehicle.
 2. The operatingmechanism of claim 1, wherein the first module includes at least onetrack and wherein the second module includes at least one glide movablealong the track as the first module moves linearly relative to thesecond module.
 3. The operating mechanism of claim 2, wherein the mountincludes a pair of tracks on opposite sides of the drive screw andwherein the second module includes a support for mounting at least twoglides such that at least one glide engages each track.
 4. An operatingmechanism for extending a slide-out section of a vehicle relative to astationary part of the vehicle, the operating mechanism comprising; afirst module including: a pair of elongated tracks mounted in spacedrelation to define a gap therebetween extending in the direction ofextension of the slide-out section; a drive screw disposed in the gapbetween the tracks and fixed to the tracks; and a second moduleincluding: a pair of glides engagable with and movable along the tracks;a support on which the glides are mounted; a nut mounted on the supportand threadedly engaged with the screw; a drive that imparts relativerotation between the nut and the screw to move the nut axially relativeto the screw wherein one of the modules is mounted to the stationarypart of the vehicle and the other of the modules is mounted to theslide-out section so that when the drive is actuated to move the modulesrelative to one another, the slide-out moves linearly relative to thestationary part of the vehicle.
 5. The operating mechanism of claim 4,wherein the tracks define v-shaped sections and wherein the glidesdefine v-shaped grooves matable with the v-shaped sections of thetracks.
 6. The operating mechanism of claim 5, wherein the glides arerollers rotatably mounted to the support.
 7. The operating mechanism ofclaim 5, wherein a plurality of rollers engage each track.
 8. Theoperating mechanism of claim 4, wherein the support essentially spansthe gap between the tracks and wherein the support has support oppositewalls mounting the pair of glides in engagement with the tracks.
 9. Theoperating mechanism of claim 4, wherein the drive is an electric motorrotating a drive nut in engagement with the drive screw to cause linearmovement of the drive screw with respect to the drive.
 10. The operatingmechanism of claim 4, wherein the drive screw is mounted to theslide-out section so as to move with the slide-out section as it isextended.
 11. The operating mechanism of claim 4, wherein the drive ismounted to the slide-out section so as to move with the slide-outsection as it is extended.
 12. The operating mechanism of claim 4,wherein the pair of tracks define a plane and wherein the drive ismounted to one side of that plane.
 13. The operating mechanism of claim4, further including an anti-tip system providing a force to an upperfront portion of the slide-out section tending to resist lowering of afront end of the slide-out section.
 14. The operating mechanism of claim13, wherein the anti-tip system includes a cable and sheave arrangement.15. The operating mechanism of claim 14, wherein at least one sheave ismounted to the vehicle and the cable has first and second ends mountedto the slide-out section, wherein the first end of the cable is fixed tothe upper front portion of the slide-out section and the second end isfixed to a rear portion of the slide-out section.
 16. An operatingmechanism for extending a slide-out section of a vehicle, the operatingmechanism comprising: a pair of elongated v-shaped tracks mounted inspaced relation to define a gap therebetween extending in the directionof extension of the slide-out section; a pair of glides having v-shapedgrooves matable with the v-shaped tracks for movement therealong; asupport mounting the glides to a vehicle frame; a drive screw disposedin the gap between the tracks; and a drive engaging the drive screw toimpart linear movement to extend the slide-out section relative to thevehicle frame.
 17. The operating mechanism of claim 16, wherein thedrive screw is mounted to the slide-out section so as to move with theslide-out section as it is extended.
 18. The operating mechanism ofclaim 16, wherein the drive is mounted to the slide-out section so as tomove with the slide-out section as it is extended.